Kessler Foundation researchers find retrieval practice improves memory in severe TBI

(Press-News.org) Contact information: Carolann Murphy
CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org
973-324-8382
Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation researchers find retrieval practice improves memory in severe TBI Robust results indicate that retrieval practice would improve memory in memory-impaired persons with severe TBI in real-life settings

West Orange, NJ. January 31, 2014. Kessler Foundation researchers have shown that retrieval practice can improve memory in individuals with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). "Retrieval Practice Improves Memory in Survivors of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury," was published as a brief report in the current issue of Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Volume 95, Issue 2 (390-396) February 2014. The article is authored by James Sumowski, PhD, Julia Coyne, PhD, Amanda Cohen, BA, and John DeLuca, PhD, of Kessler Foundation.

"Despite the small sample size, it was clear that retrieval practice (RP) was superior to other learning strategies in this group of memory-impaired individuals with severe TBI," explained Dr. Sumowski.

Researchers studied ten patients with severe TBI and memory impairment (< 5th percentile) to see whether RP improved memory after short (30 min) and long (1 week) delays. During RP, also described as testing effect, patients are quizzed shortly after information to be learned is presented. RP was compared with two other learning strategies--massed restudy (MR), which consists of repeated restudy (ie, cramming) and spaced restudy (SR), for which individuals restudy information at intervals (ie, distributed learning).

Results showed that recall was better with RP than with MR or SR. Moreover, RP was more effective for memory after short delay, and was the only strategy that supported memory after long delay. This robust effect indicates that RP would improve memory in this group in real-life settings. "If these individuals learn to incorporate this compensatory strategy into their daily routines, they can improve their memory," Dr. Sumowski noted. "For example, rather than re-reading an article several times, it would be more effective if they quizzed themselves periodically, eg, after each paragraph or page."

Future randomized controlled trials of RP training are needed to confirm the benefits of RP in larger numbers of patients with TBI, according to Dr. DeLuca, VP of Research and Training. Another challenge is convincing patients that this strategy is effective. "Most people, with and without TBI, favor MR for learning and memory," said Dr. DeLuca. "We will need to educate individuals with TBI about the benefits of RP."

INFORMATION:

This study was supported by Kessler Foundation and Children's Specialized Hospital.

About TBI Research at Kessler Foundation

Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, is director of TBI Research and Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research. Kessler Foundation is one of 16 federally funded model systems that form a national comprehensive system of care, research, education and dissemination aimed at improving quality of life for people with TBI. The Northern New Jersey TBI System (NNJTBIS), a collaborative effort of Kessler Foundation, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, is supported by grant #H133A120030 from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, US Dept of Education. Drs. John DeLuca and Nancy Chiaravalloti are project directors of the NNJTBIS. In addition to NIDRR and NIH, TBI research is funded by the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Children's Specialized Hospital. Kessler Foundation researchers have faculty appointments in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility and long-term outcomes, including employment, for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org.

Contacts:

Carolann Murphy, 973.324.8382, CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org

Lauren Scrivo, 973.324.8384, 973.768.6583 - c, LScrivo@KesslerFoundation.org